The Weekend...

Ok, so last week I called my Dad to see if we all could get together for dinner to celebrate my Dad's upcoming birthday. I figured he'd tell me he wouldn't be able to since his crappy job has him working almost 7 days a week. However, I was pleasantly surprised that he agreed to it and said we could meet on Saturday night. I had my splurge a few days ago and didn't think dinner out would be any trouble.....but, then I didn't consider how crowded Longhorn Steakhouse would be on a Saturday night in a small town. (We always meet in Gastonia...it's the halfway point b/t my home and Charlotte) I took what I thought would be good precaution. I ate my cereal w/ walnuts and almond milk. I ate my lunch which consisted of a whole wheat tortilla, turkey, cheese, salad, and a tbsp. of dressing and I had my 1/2c. of Naked Green juice. I made sure I wasn't hungry before I left the house. We met at 7 and the place was packed. We scouted other restaurants to see if any were less crowded....no such luck. So, we did not get seated until 8:45!!! Of course by then, I was about to lose my head b/c I had to keep my 3yr. old son happy until then and we were ravenously hungry. My brother of course, went straight to ordering an appetizer....and I told him I wouldn't be eating any of it. I figured, "Hey, I'll eat my salad and I'll be straight.".  The waitress brought a small basket of bread (I had an end piece just to take the edge off the hunger), then she brought our drinks, then she brought the stinkin' cheesy chili fries, but not my salad!!! I ordered a nice grilled veggie salad w/balsamic, but the lady didn't bring it until 5 minutes before my steak. So, I ate a few fries....and another small piece of bread. I made sure to eat most of my salad before touching the steak/mash potatoes/mushrooms. That worked pretty well for me b/c I  actually got full and was able to bring part of my food home. So, at that point I'm thinking "Ok, not too bad....I only messed up a little."
   Then my brother's girlfriend announces that she made a chocolate cake for my Dad and had it out in the car. She wanted to bring it into the restaurant but my Dad said he'd be embarassed. Why? I dunno...he's strange like that. Then my Dad goes on to say, "Just take it with you guys to Kim's house." My head perked up and I said, " HUH???". (I should mention my Dad told me he could tell I've lost weight and he's sooo glad I'm finally doing something about it). I begged my Dad to NOT send the cake to MY house....and he didn't listen. At that point, I was afraid my bro's girlfriend was gonna cry b/c my Dad so rudely didn't even wanna look at it...so I just stopped begging. You should know....chocolate and cake are my kryptonite...the both of them together = catastrophe pour moi . So, I had cake later on...I knew I would...gah!
  Then yesterday I slept in late so I decided to just go ahead and eat my leftovers from the night before...then I had cake again...gah! Finally, I got a grip on myself and decided to turn it around. So, for lunch I made smoothies for all....a super healthy one too (banana, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries, plain organic yogurt, flax seed meal, walnuts, OJ, green juice, and pomegranite juice). We divided it 4 ways so I had like maybe a cup and a few granny smith apple slices. (I felt the need to cleanse myself after eating the yucky stuff.) My bro and his girlfriend decided they'd stay for dinner which was nice b/c I got to control what we ate since I was cooking....remember one of the other times they came over?  I made Adobo Chicken , sauteed zucchini and summer squash w/ low sodium soy sauce/hoisin sauce, a big salad (romaine, arugula, cucumber, carrots, cranberries, sprinkle of cheese), and brown rice. Oh, and then my Dad calls to ask my brother if there's any cake left and to see if he had hurt Niki's feelings. Seriously?? LOL!
     So, the moral of the story is, don't go to a steakhouse in a small town on a Saturday night unless you go very early and have a nutritious snack in your purse...just in case. Also, another lesson I learned is sometimes you may have to hurt someone's feelings or just be very direct in saying, "NO!!" so chocolate kryptonite cake won't make its way into your house.
  Besides the couple of mess-ups, the weekend was really fun. When my brother (Joey) and his girlfriend (Niki) come over, we have loads of fun. We play Rockband, Clue, and this time we bought Apples to Apples Jr.  Apples to Apples is a very interesting game if you have argumentive people playing it and it's a great game for Korean girls like Niki who are trying to learn more English. My ten-yr. old benefits as well...expanding her vocabulary. Also, we have fun doing things like this...

drawing on Joey's face w/ Niki after he ignorantly falls asleep on the sofa. Next time I'll help him draw on her face. One of these days I'm afraid they'll tag team me once they figure out I've been playin on both teams. (shhh..don't tell) :oP

 So, I managed to mess up two meals, but I was able to finish yesterday on the right track...which got me to thinking.....

To Be Continued....